Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh Secure Historic Bronze in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team at Paris 2024
Indian shooters Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh made history on Tuesday by clinching a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
This accomplishment marks India’s sixth Olympic medal in shooting and the country’s first-ever medal in a shooting team event. Manu Bhaker became the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics, having previously earned a medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
The duo triumphed over South Korea’s Oh Ye Jin and Wonho Lee with a score of 16-10 in the bronze medal match at the National Shooting Center in Chateauroux. Notably, Oh Ye Jin had earlier secured gold in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
Bhaker commenced the match with an impressive 10.2, although Sarabjot Singh’s 8.6 initially set India back. However, Singh quickly regained his form with scores of 10.5, 10.4, and 10, allowing India to capture the next six points.
Bhaker maintained her consistency with scores of at least 10 in her first seven shots. Despite a strong comeback by the South Korean team, which pushed the match to 14-10, Bhaker and Singh held their ground. A decisive 10.2 by Singh in the final round secured the victory.
Manu Bhaker expressed her elation, stating, “The first medal was really good, and this one was another tough fight. Each shot was crucial, and Sarabjot’s final shot was vital for our win.”
During the match, 19 of India’s 26 shots were 10 or higher, compared to 12 for the South Korean team.
The path to the bronze medal match saw Bhaker and Singh finish third in the qualifying round, trailing behind Turkey’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Yusuf Dikec, and Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec. Serbia later claimed the gold medal with a 16-14 win over Turkey.
Paris 2024 has been particularly successful for Indian shooters, with two of their six Olympic shooting medals coming from this edition. This achievement recalls the 2012 London Olympics, where Indian shooters also won two medals: Gagan Narang in the men’s 10m air rifle and Vijay Kumar in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol.
India had not won any shooting medals in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
India’s journey in Olympic shooting began with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver in the men’s double trap at Athens 2004. Abhinav Bindra remains the only Indian shooter to have won a gold medal, achieving this in the men’s 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008.
Looking ahead, Bhaker will compete in the women’s 25m pistol event starting Friday, being the only member of the 21-strong Indian shooting team participating in multiple individual events.
Meanwhile, Prithviraj Tondaiman finished 21st in the men’s trap qualification round with a score of 118/125, failing to make the six-man final. In the women’s trap, Indian shooters Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh both scored 68, ranking 21st and 22nd, respectively, after the first day of competition.xt
